THis day the best and good Newes from his Ma­jestie is, that hee is in good health (which God continue) yet hee is not well pleased with the Troubles and Perturbations of his People and Kingdomes: It is to be unfainedly desired of all good and true Chri­stians, English, Scottish, Welch, Irish, French, or any loyall-hearted subject whatsoever, that there were (or may be) a Right Vnderstanding, Accommodation, and true Reconciliation betwixt his Majestie and the High Court of Parliament. It is thought, that his Majesties next Remove will be from Holmby; but when, or to which of his Houses, is to me unknowne: His poore servants doe not care how neere, or how soone his Ma­jestie comes; I meane, many who are aged, and in extreame want, who have not any meanes of subsi­stence; such as have, according to their Oathes and Duties, attended on his Majesties Person; and such, indeed, as never bare Armes in these unnaturall Di­stractions; such as are Friendlesse, Moneylesse, Har­bourlesse, and Helpelesse; and such as may be easily knowne by their bare Attyre and thin Faces.

It was certified, that this day there were divers people scattered in most parts of his Majesties Do­minions, [Page 3]who doe detest the name of Peace, but da [...]e not looke Warre in the face: it is thought meet to put all such in the front of an Armie, that by the ad­venturous brunt and shock of a Battaile their Valours may be tryed. It is expected, that Nabal hath more wit then foolishly to aske, who is David? Nor will Shimei barke so lowd as he did once, and too often; Libertinisme shall no more be nick-nam'd, and called Christian Libertie; Want and Wantonnesse doe sel­dome harbour in any one person: but it is concluded, that Detraction and Sedition are not so inseparable, but that the one treads upon the others heeles.

Newes came, that Abington Fayre was this yeare on their Weekely Market-day, Monday, the eighth of March; where (amongst many rich Commodities, of Rattles, Hobby-horses, Knights and Kings of Ginger­bread, and such Rarities of Art and Nature) there were Pamphlets of small price and lesse worth; some Reverend Ballads, with some Grave Volumes of A­stronomica [...]l Predictions, such as Erra Pater, Adam Fowle-weather, and such like. There was one (with the rest) a namelesse Booke and Author, which repor­ted str [...]nge things, past, present, and to come: but as past things are gone, because wee have little hold-fast of any thing good for the present, I present you with the future. The said Booke speakes of an ancient wo­man of Banbury, named Good-Wife Quiet, the daughter of a Woollen-Baker in Coventry-Blue, at the Signe of the three Snow-balls in warme Water: This woman was said to have a Wooden Stone at her Doore, and a great Iron Peare-Tree in her Back-side; by these strange Markes and Signes shee was knowne: Her Pro­phesies and Predictions fore-told, That Peace would [Page 4]bring Plentie; That Hypocrites are Dissemblers; That Tyrants want Mercie; That Trecherie shall wrong Truth; That one Thiefe shall hang another; That Dotage shall be turned back, and transformed to Non­age; That meane men shall be changed into men of Meanes, and that men of Meanes shall be strangely metamorphosed into meane men; That honest plaine­dealing shall be in such plentifull abundance, that it shall goe a begging up and downe the Streetes, and Charitie be so cold, that shee would be glad to be hang'd in a Chimney Cornor; That Milke should not be as deare as Muscadine; and that by Geogra­phie and Geometrie it might easily be proved, that if it were a mile from the bottome of Shooters Hill to the top, then by true dimension and measure it was another mile from the top to the bottome. These Ob­servations, with many others, are in the said dangerous Booke, of which perhaps you may heare further relation in the next.

This day it was reported by the Carrier (of Mid­dleborough in Monmouthshire) that the Pope was turn'd Anabaptist or Brownist; but I wish the Brethren to beware how they trust him, for he speakes Latine (the Language of the Beast) and it is to be feared, that all the Rites and Ceremonies of the Romish Catholique Religion will not easily be swopt out of his Consci­ence.

The Cardinall Bembus wrote to the Arch-bishop of Toledo, to signifie unto him what griefe there was in Rome for the inconstant wavering of his Holinesse; the States of Italy are troubled with it, Poland is mole­sted, France is disquiered; Bohemia, Hungaria, Austria, and many parts of Germanie are doubtfull, that old [Page 5]Sects and Heresies may rise, and new Schismaticall Opinions breed; England is wearie of them, and hear­tily desires, as they have one good God, so one good Religion, and one good King, Charles, who is the same wee have and hope for.

There is great hope that Ireland will be at Peace, before the Papists and Protestants doe agree in mat­ters of Faith; and that the Protestant true Subjects will lay downe Armes, when the Romish Catholiques shall lay downe theirs: Howsoever, many of the Re­bels there will be forced to live in Boggs, weare thin­soal'd Brogues, and eate Shamracks, if they be not more obedient, and at peace amongst themselves the sooner. And by certaine Letters from the Irish Re­bels lately sent hither, they declare themselves to be resolv'd, That as long as they live, there shall be a greater number of Thieves amongst them then of true men.

I might (if I ought) and I could (if I would) relate how a great Sea-Horse was cast upon Dunsmore-Heath, with strange Newes in his fore-hoofe, on the neere side; but because the Relation is grounded upon Vn­certainties, and thereby I might abuse my Readers with Vntruths (as many Occurrent Mercurie makers have formerly done) I will Moderate my Intelligence, till such time as Time gives me more certaine No­tice.

It was concluded this day, That what man soever that had not any Foe or Enemie, that every such per­son should assure himselfe to have no true friend; and that as Mischiefe is often painted over with a shew of Good, or as a Wolfe is like a Dogge, so is a Flatterer [Page 6]so like a Friend, that a man must have a cleare in­sight to see his inside.

Also it was this day agreed, That because many hu­mourous Sectaries cannot (or will not) frame their Opinions according to Gods Word, therefore they will doe what they can to frame Gods Word accord­ing to their Opinions: Like as the Carpenters in the Isle of Lesbos, whose Rules and Squares were made of Lead, whereby they could bend the Rule as they plea­sed; so that if the Timber would not frame strait to be measured by the Rule, they had the Art to make the Rule crooked to the forme of the Timber: so all the Papists, Heretikes, and Sectaries, would make the Scrip­tures as a Lesbian Rule.

This day newes came, that the Foot-Post of Stepney was dead; and that after his decease, he desired one of the Church-Wardens of Wapping to invite all the blind men and women in the P [...]ish to see h [...]m buri­ed in Christian Buriall, with his head Nor [...]hw [...]rd, and his face down-ward: His Place is [...]o [...] ye [...] dis­posed of.

It was concluded by the [...] of ma [...]y honest men, that Pamphleters and [...] were the fire-brands of [...] you may sooner find a Begger without [...] Diurnall without Lyes: (I am afraid that this [...] S [...]eet which you are now reading [...] in the fashion, that it wants impudence to say, Not Guiltie) Howsoever, theirs and this may be cryed in the Streets, and for want of wisdome they may be regarded. Amongst these walking Statione [...]s, (whose Authors wits have commonly but one Sheet to Lye in weekely) one of the best and most currant of [Page 7]these uncurrant Occurrences and Curranto's, is one Pigge, I know not where he had his Intelligence, eyther from Aleppo or Mexico (for all the foure Windes were his Messengers) he hath beene eclipsed at least five quar­ters of a yeare, and in his roome are sprung or sprou­ted out a swarme of Mercuries, with as many heads as Hydra, and as many varieties as words; such as, Mercurius Gallobelgicus, Britaunicus, Hibernicus, Au­licus, Diutinus, Caelicus, Aquaticus, Rusticus, Candi­dius, Civicus, Infernalis Hibernicalis, Post, and Men­dacius, &c. It is the good pleasure of many honest men, that all the Mercuries may be sublimated and qualified with Fasting-Spettle; which is by interpre­tation, that for every malicious Lye they write, they should fast one Meale: by which meanes, the num­ber of them would eyther bee thinner, (or looke thinne.)

In the time of the Great Alexander, there lived an ignorant Poet named Cherrillus, who dayly did write such Halting, Impotent, Lame, Ridiculous Lines (or Verses) that Alexander gave him a Pension, to make him forbeare Writing. So it is thought convenient, that all our weekely Newes-making Mercuries mouthes may be stop'd or bung'd up (with a Graves-end Toast) with some Competencie, to eate and live upon; or else, if there be such a thing in England as the Good-Behaviour, it is convenient that they were all bound to it.